[Ed. Note: This is Part 2 in our two part series. Click here to check out Part 1]

Movie development can be tricky to navigate. The movies that do make it to the big screen almost never resemble the original script that was put into development. Some never make it to the screen at all. Below are just some of the many different movies that the general audience never got to see. I have also compared them to the version of the movie we got (if applicable).

“Terry Gilliam” by Il Fatto Quotidiano is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Terry Gilliam’s Watchmen

What we almost got: Brazil director and Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam is no stranger to failed productions. One of his most famous failed endeavors involved adapting the classic Alan Moore graphic novel, Watchmen. Gilliam considered directing the film in the early ‘90s before ultimately passing on the project. He cited that the film could only be adapted into a 5 hour movie with each page costing $1,000,000.

What we actually got: Zack Snyder, fresh off his success with 300, directed the adaptation, taking the Sin City approach to adaptations by directly translating scenes and images from page to screen. The overall reaction to the film has been mixed, with some calling it one of the best adaptations of a comic-based property ever, whereas others deem it inferior to its source material, acknowledging that the film does have its moments, but is problematic as a whole.

Would it have been better? The short answer is we don’t know. Watchmen was always going to be a difficult comic to adapt. The world and story are both dense and pay a lot of attention to detail, so any film adaptation was going to have an uphill battle. Producer Joel Silver recently made comments suggesting that Gilliam’s version of the film would have been better, as it featured a drastically different ending from the novel; more so than Snyder’s conclusion. Gilliam’s film would have ended with Dr. Manhattan going back in time and preventing the accident that gave him his powers. While we may never know how good a Terry Gilliam Watchmen would have been, one thing that we definitely would have missed is seeing Alan Moore’s reaction to the changed ending.

“George Miller” by Eva Rinaldi is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

A Justice League movie directed by George Miller

What we almost got: In the early 2000s, Mad Max director George Miller was hired to direct a Justice League movie for Warner Brothers. The film would have portrayed the heroes as more along the lines of gods in ancient religions. He had even begun casting and pre-production, creating art and casting an actress who would later appear in Mad Max: Fury Road (the woman with the Winchester who gets run over by Immortan Joe near the end). Despite the work that Miller had put into the project, the film was one of the casualties of the writer’s strike in 2007, and Warners opted to go with Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins sequel for their next big comic-based property.

What we actually got: At the time of this writing: nothing. Despite several attempts, a Justice League movie has yet to be made, though the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is set to lay the ground work for two different Justice League films. Whether or not these films turn out to be good is still up in the air.

Would it have been better? At the current moment, it’s impossible to say. Miller does have a very unique style that would be interesting to see outside of a Mad Max film, and it appears that Warner Brothers liked working with him (he’s rumored to be the front runner to direct Man of Steel 2). The one thing that would have been awesome to see is a superhero movie that does not include an origin story, which this version would not have had.

“Jurassic World” by Mark Mathosian is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Jurassic Park 4 with human-dinosaur hybrids

What we almost got: Following the release of Jurassic Park III in 2001, Universal put a sequel into motion with an insane twist. Instead of running from cloned dinosaurs on an island, the film would have featured humans crossed with dinosaurs. Concept art for this shows variations from human to dinosaur sized hybrids. [Ed. Note: If anyone has access to this, please share with the world.]

What we actually got: 14 years after the release of Jurassic Park III, Universal released Jurassic World, a sequel set 20 years after the original movie where the titular park is actually open. There are no dino-human hybrids in this movie, but the idea of genetic modification is introduced in the series with the new Indominus Rex. The genetically modified dinosaur of course then breaks out and wreaks havoc, killing any human it runs into, not to mention as other dinosaurs as well.

Would it have been better? Probably not. While Jurassic World is far from a perfect or even great film, it still has an excellent blend of nostalgia and pure entertainment value (the ending fight scene provides testament to that). While a dinosaur-human hybrid might have been an interesting way to go, it’s hard to see the concept being turned into a good movie.

“Darren Aronofsky” by Taras Khimchak is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Darren Aronofsky’s Batman Year One

What we almost got: In an attempt to reboot the property, Warner Brothers hired Requiem for a Dream director Darren Aronofsky to write and direct an adaptation of the Frank Miller graphic novel Batman Year One. The adaptation was set to be one of the loosest adaptations of all time, as Batman would’ve been a penniless and homeless hero. Alfred was set to be an African American car mechanic called “Little Al,” and a Lincoln Continental would have stepped in as the Batmobile, among other changes.

What we actually got: In 2005 film, Warner Brothers released Batman Begins, which was directed by a relatively unknown Christopher Nolan. The film would prove to be a hit and helped usher in the “Golden Age of Superhero Movies.” Unlike Aronofsky, Nolan took the elements surrounding the Batman mythos and presented them in a way that was at least somewhat grounded in the real world. Ironically, Nolan cast Christian Bale (Aronofsky’s Batman of choice) as the eponymous superhero. The film would followed by two sequels.

Would it have been better? It’s both easy and hard to say no. The premise of Aronofsky’s film sounds completely insane, and combined with the quality of Nolan’s Batman trilogy, no is the obvious answer. However, upon further thought, it wouldn’t have been that much of a stretch to think that Aronofsky could have pulled it off.

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